Childhood of Feodosius
At the birth of the boy, the presbyter prophetically gave him the name Theodosius, which means “Given to God.” The holy Palestinian land, where Jesus walked when he was incarnated on earth, attracted the youth Theodosius from early childhood. In the end, the boy ran away, lured by the stories of the wanderers. The attempt was unsuccessful, as were the ones that followed it. In general, in the biography of the saint we see a large volume, describing his childhood more than other saints.
The basis of the story of Theodosius’s youth consists of a gentle struggle with his mother for a spiritual calling, the torture he endured, and three attempts to escape. They write about his childhood that the boy spent a lot of time in church, did not play street games with children, and avoided children's companies. Theodosius of Pechersky strove for science and quickly learned grammar, causing surprise at his intelligence and wisdom. The youth’s love of books persisted throughout his life and manifested itself when he wrote books day and night in the monastery.
Portrait painter Vasily Andreevich Tropinin died
Discussion: 2 comments
- Sergey:
10.10.2014 at 00:00you are breaching the KGB in robes. How could the “architects” give the icon to the Pechersk people Anthony and Feodosia, since they died ten years before the presentation?
- MVN to Sergei:
10/11/2014 at 00:00
Indeed, it was only some KGB men in robes who lost their lives over the course of a year. Don't feed them honey - just let them roam. Fixed, thanks. We are always grateful for pointing out errors.
"The thinness of the robe"
Another interesting feature from Theodosius’s childhood, which, given his religiosity, takes on new meaning, was the wearing of poor, mended clothes. His parents gave him clean new clothes and asked him to wear them, but this was the only thing in which the boy did not obey them. Further, when on duty he had to wear light and clean clothes, he wore them with a heavy heart, giving them to the poor after a few days. He himself changed into old and patched clothes. “Thin vestments” generally occupy not the last place in the life of the monk, showing his extraordinary humility from childhood. From childhood, Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersky fell in love with the thinness of the robe, made it part of his life behavior and passed it on to all Russian asceticism.
When his father died, Theodosius chose for himself a new feat of humiliation and simplicity: he went out into the field with slaves and humbly worked with them, thereby showing his ascetic ingenuity.
Image of Mother Theodosius
When Theodosius made his third escape, he ended up in Kyiv, in the cave of St. Anthony. The elder did not want to accept him as a student due to his youth, and Theodosius returned home. After this there was a dramatic meeting with my mother, full of life's truth. The imperious despotism of maternal love causes in Theodosius not severity, but self-doubt and timidity. From a loser in this struggle, he turns into a winner. As a result, it is not he who returns to his mother, but she who takes monastic vows in one of the Kyiv monasteries.
The miraculous icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God of Kiev-Pechersk
Kiev-Pechersk Icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God
- one of the oldest St. icons revered in Russia. This icon, as a guarantee of the gracious and everlasting intercession of the Mother of God for the Russian Orthodox Church, was given from Her Herself to four Byzantine architects, whom She chose to be the builders of the Kiev-Pechersk Church. The Mother of God appeared to them in the Blachernae Church of Constantinople, gave them Her icon - “may it be local” in the new temple - and gold for the building. The architects brought St. the icon from Constantinople to Kyiv and presented to St. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk, founders of the Lavra.
The icon was written in ancient Greek script on a cypress board 9 inches wide and 6 inches high. The Mother of God is depicted on the icon resting on a bed, in front of which stands the Gospel. The Gospel covered a hole deep into the board, where there were particles of the relics of the seven holy martyrs, placed by the temple builders at the foundation of the church. At the head of the Mother of God there are six apostles, of which St. ap. Peter is depicted with a censer; at Her feet are five apostles, and St. ap. Paul is depicted falling on the left side at the feet of the Mother of God. In the middle, on the left side, the Savior is depicted holding the soul of the Virgin Mary in swaddling clothes, and at the top, near His head, two angels with white trims are depicted.
Reverends Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk placed the icon above the Royal Doors of the newly built temple in a golden round icon case, generously decorated with diamonds. This entire circle with the miraculous icon was lowered down daily, at the end of Matins and Liturgy, on strong silk cords for reverent attachment to the image of the pilgrims.
The icon became famous for many miracles. In 1676, when the Turks were besieging Chigirin and Kyiv was in danger, the icon was carried around the city almost the entire day of August 27th. The Mother of God blessed the Russian troops marching to the Battle of Poltava (1709). In 1812, the icon was again carried around Kyiv.
Apparently, the icon died in the explosion of the Assumption Cathedral in 1941, which was mined by the Enkavedists when leaving Kyiv. One of the copies of the ancient icon is now in the Holy Cross Church of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra above the royal gates and is also miraculous. The icon has the same round icon case and is designed similarly to the original icon of the “Assumption of the Mother of God” of Kiev-Pechersk. He descends after each liturgy for worship according to the previous custom of the monastery. The relics of four architects and eight icon painters who arrived ten years later rest in the Near Caves.
The icon is commemorated on May 3/16 and August 15/28.
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Monastic works
Nestor, when writing the life of Theodosius of Pechersk, loved to tell more than to describe, therefore little was written about the personal exploits of Theodosius and his spiritual appearance and in different places in the narrative. By combining these scattered facts, one can form an idea about the ascetic life of St. Theodosius. The most severe feats of self-mortification of his body are written about in the chronicle of the first years of his cave life. At night, struggling with carnal temptations, naked, the monk gives his body to mosquitoes and gadflies, while singing psalms. In the later life of Theodosius, one can see a desire to exhaust the body. Hiding his asceticism, he wore a hair shirt, slept sitting on a chair, and prayed intensely at night. Theodosius of Pechersk made up for the relatively small ascetic exercises with the continuity of his labors. Since childhood, strong and strong, he works both for himself and for others. While in the monastery under Abbot Varlaam, he grinds grain at night for the entire monastery brethren. And even later, Theodosius, abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk, often took up an ax himself to chop wood or draw water from a well instead of sleep or rest.
Editions of essays[ | ]
Theodosius's works were published several times. The best edition of two messages, eight teachings and a prayer, most likely belonging to the saint, was produced in 1947 by I. P. Eremin (their complete scientific edition).
- Macarius, bishop
(Bulgakov) Works of St. Theodosius of Pechersk in the original text // Academic. zap. II department imp. AN. - 1856. - Book. 2, no. 2. - No. 11. - P. 193-224; - Buslaev F.I.
Paleographical and philological materials for the history of Slavic writings, collected from the XV manuscripts of the Moscow Synodal Library // In the book. : Mater. for the history of Eastern, Greek, Roman and Slavic writings. - M., 1855. - P. 23-29; - Monuments of Old Russian Church Literature / Ed. prof. A. I. Ponomareva. - St. Petersburg, 1894. - Issue. 1. - pp. 26-46;
- Yatsimirsky A.I.
From Slavic manuscripts: Texts and notes. - M., 1898. - P. 1-30; - Chagovets V. A.
Venerable Theodosius of Pechersk, his life and writings. - Kyiv, 1901; - Nikolsky N.K.
Serbian list of teachings on going to church and prayer, attributed to St. Theodosius of Pechersk // Bibliographical Chronicle. - St. Petersburg, 1915. - T. 2, department. 2. - pp. 68-71; - Eremin I.P.
From the history of ancient Russian journalism of the 11th century (Message of Theodosius of Pechersk to Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich about the Latins) // Proceedings of the Department of Old Russian Literature. - 1935. - T. 2. - P. 21-38; - Eremin I.P.
Literary heritage of Theodosius of Pechersk // Proceedings of the Department of Old Russian Literature. - 1947. - T. 5. - P. 159-184; - Ponyrko N.V.
Epistolary heritage of Ancient Russia, XI-XIII centuries. : Research, texts, translations. - St. Petersburg, 1992; - Teachings and prayer of Theodosius of Pechersk / Preparation of the text, translation and comments by N. V. Ponyrko // Library of Literature of Ancient Rus' / RAS. IRLI; edited by D. S. Likhacheva, L. A. Dmitrieva, A. A. Alekseeva, N. V. Ponyrko. - St. Petersburg. : Science, 1997. - T. 1: XI-XII centuries. — 543 p. — (Library of Literature of Ancient Rus');
- Old Russian patericon: Kiev-Pechersk patericon. Volokolamsk Patericon. - M., 1999.
Spiritual life of Theodosius of Pechersk
Many pages of the saint’s rather extensive life are devoted to his working and active life, balancing the exploits of his spiritual life. He devotes all his nights to prayer. The time of Great Lent, which the monk spent alone in a cave, is devoted exclusively to prayer. Nestor does not show any miraculous qualities of prayer or high contemplation. Prayer helped Theodosius gain complete fearlessness in the face of dark forces and allowed him to help his students get rid of demonic visions at night.
Theodosius, abbot of Kiev-Pechersk
In the spiritual life of Theodosius there was one very important milestone for him - he put an end to the monastery in caves founded by Anthony. After Abbot Varlaam founded the first wooden church on the surface of the earth, Theodosius erected cells over the cave, which remained for Anthony and a few hermits. He diminishes the silence and contemplation of the cramped cave for the sake of work and brotherly life to build some kind of harmony. In this harmony, personal notes of humility, meekness, and obedience also sound. The Monk Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk, as Nestor notes, for all his spiritual wisdom, was simple in mind. The “thin vestments” that accompany him even during his abbess attract a lot of ridicule.
There is a story about a prince's servant who mistook the monk for one of the poor and ordered him to transfer from the cart to a horse. Social humiliation and simplification were one of the features of his holiness from childhood. Placed at the head of the monastery, Theodosius did not change his character. Despite his quietness and self-deprecation, he teaches a lot in sermons that are distinguished by simplicity of form and content. Theodosius also tries to observe the monastic charter to the smallest detail in all its details and wants everything to be done according to order and with reverence. However, for all his exactingness, Theodosius did not like to resort to punishment. He was gentle even towards those who, having run away, returned with repentance. The only certain image of severity was in relation to the economic affairs of the monastery.
Literature[ | ]
- M. Z.
Theodosius (abbot of Pechersk) // Russian biographical dictionary: in 25 volumes. - SPb.-M., 1896-1918. - T. 25 (1913): Yablonovsky - Fomin. - pp. 361-365; - Kubarev A. M.
Nestor, the first writer of Russian history, church and civil // In the book: Russian historical collection / Ed. Russian Society of History and Antiquities. - M., 1842. - T. 4, book. 4. - pp. 394-408; - Shevyrev S.P.
Trip to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. - M., 1850. - T. 2. - P. 38; - Macarius, bishop
(Bulgakov) Venerable Theodosius of Pechersk as a writer // In the book: Historical readings about language and literature, II department. imp. AN, 1854 and 1855. - 1856. - P. 232-261; - Sreznevsky I. I.
The source of the teaching included in the Tale of Bygone Years and attributed to the Monk Theodosius of Pechersk // Collection of the Department of Russian Language and Literature. - 1867. - T. 1. - P. 34-43; - Popov A.
Historical and literary review of ancient Russian polemical works against the Latins: (XI-XV centuries). - M., 1875. - P. 69-81; - Petrov N.
Authenticity of the teachings of the teacher. Theodosius of Pechersk about drinking and throne bowls and the executions of God // News of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences. - 1897. - T. 2, book. 3. - pp. 783-785; - Shakhmatov A. A.
Kiev-Pechersk Patericon and Pechersk Chronicle // News of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences. - 1897. - T. 2, book. 3. - pp. 795-844; - Shakhmatov A. A.
“The Tale of Bygone Years” and its sources // Proceedings of the Department of Old Russian Literature. - 1940. - T. 4. - P. 104-111; - Lyashchenko A.I.
Notes on the works of Theodosius, a writer of the 12th century. // In the book: Report on the state of the school under the Reformed churches for 1899-1900 - St. Petersburg, 1900. - pp. 24-26; - Belchenko G.P.
Venerable Theodosius of Pechersk, his life and writings (about the book by V.A. Chagovets). - Odessa, 1902; - Nikolsky N.K.
Materials for a time-based list of Russian writers and their works (X-XI centuries). - St. Petersburg, 1906. - P. 187-192; - Kharlampovich K.V.
About the prayers of the Rev. Theodosius of Pechersk // News of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences. - 1912. - T. 17, book. 2. - pp. 165-174; - Priselkov M.D.
Essays on the church-political history of Kievan Rus of the X-XII centuries. - St. Petersburg, 1913; St. Petersburg, 2003; - Speransky M. N.
On the history of the relationship between Russian and South Slavic literatures // News of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences for 1921 - 1923. - P. 159-161; - Viskovaty K.
On the question of the author and time of writing “A Lay to Izyaslav about the Latins” // Slavia. - 1939. - Goč. 16, seš. 4. - p. 535-567; - Ukrainian writers. - pp. 187-192;
- Oreshnikov A.S.
On the history of the Initial Chronicle Code: (About the compiler and time of compilation of the “Teachings on the Executions of God”). - Tr. Moscow state history-archive in-ta. - M., 1961. - T. 16. - P. 481-487; - Gudziy N.K.
About the works of Theodosius of Pechersk // In the book: Problems of socio-political history of Russia and Slavic countries. Sat. articles for the 70th anniversary of acad. M. N. Tikhomirova. - M., 1963. - P. 62-66; - Kara N.V.
Peculiarities of citing traditional texts in the teachings of Theodosius of Pechersk // Bulletin of Leningrad State University. - 1983. - No. 8. History, language, literature, vol. 2. - pp. 64-68. - Artamonov Yu. A.
Life of Theodosius of Pechersk: Problems of source study // The most ancient states of Eastern Europe. 2000 - M., 2003; - Poppe A.
Studites in Russia: Origins and initial history of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. - K., 2011.
Saint Theodosius of Pechersk
Nestor describes the stories of cellarer Fyodor about how the holy abbot saved the monastery from various needs. These miracles, along with the gift of insight, are the only ones that Saint Theodosius of Pechersk performs. Through all the abbot's miracles runs the saint's prohibition to care about tomorrow, his wasteful mercy. For example, the miraculous filling of the bins occurs as a natural pattern: while the monastery steward despairs of what to cook dinner from or where to find wine for the liturgy, an unknown benefactor brings carts of wine and bread to the monastery. From the life of the saint, one gets the impression that the monastery exists only due to the never-ending flow of alms.
Saint Theodosius is very concerned about statutory poverty - he takes all the excess food and clothing from his cells and burns it all in the oven. He does the same with everything that is done without blessing. The all-forgiving and kind abbot becomes harsh when disobedience arises from economic calculations. It is noteworthy that even here he does not punish the guilty, but destroys only material wealth, which, as he believed, absorbed the demonic principles of greed and self-will.
Relics[ | ]
In 1090 or 1091[1], the abbot and the brethren of the laurels decided that the body of Theodosius should be transferred to the Assumption Church, which he founded before his death, which was consecrated only in 1089. Three days before the Feast of the Assumption, the monks began to dig up the grave, and the incorruptible relics of Theodosius were discovered, as Nestor narrates - “they just pulled their hair to their head.” The ceremonial transfer of the relics of the saint to the church took place on the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God with the gathering of many bishops and abbots of Kyiv monasteries. During the Mongol invasion, the relics of Theodosius were placed under cover at the western doors of the temple, where they remain to this day.
Mercy of Saint Theodosius
Remaining meek and merciful always and in everything, treating equally the robbers who came to rob his monastery, or sinful and weak monks, Saint Theodosius of Pechersk not only did not isolate his monastery from the world, but also created the closest ties with worldly society. This is one of his testaments to Russian monasticism.
Near the monastery a house was built for the blind, lame and sick with a church in the name of St. Stefan. A tenth of the monastery’s total income was used to maintain this almshouse. On Saturdays, Theodosius sent a whole cart of bread to the city for prisoners in prisons.
The Monk Theodosius was the spiritual father of numerous lay people, including princes and boyars, who came to confess their sins. He began the tradition of choosing spiritual fathers among monks. From that time on, the clergy began to exert an even greater influence on the moral state of the people.
A quiet and meek mentor could be firm and persistent in those cases when it came to the desecrated truth. One of Nestor’s last stories tells of his intercession for an offended widow who came to him for help and, not recognizing him in shabby clothes, told about her misfortune.
Literary heritage[ | ]
More than twenty works were attributed to Theodosius[1], but with sufficient grounds one can consider him the author of only two messages to Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich, six[13] or eight[1][3] teachings and one prayer.
The works of Theodosius were widely distributed. His messages to Izyaslav and his teachings “about going to church and prayer” are known in Serbian literature. All this speaks of the popularity of the saint’s work[3]. The teachings to the monks and the teachings to the prince, initially addressed to specific individuals, over time, thanks to the handwritten tradition, became teachings for all Orthodox Christians[11].
Messages to Prince Izyaslav[ | ]
The first letter to Prince Izyaslav (“The request of Prince Izyaslav, son of Yaroslavl, grandson of Volodymer, abbot of Theodosius of the Pechersk Monastery”) is known in two lists of the late XIV - early XV centuries and the XV century [14]). Contains instructions on fasting[11] and represents the monk’s answer to Prince Izyaslav’s question whether it is possible to eat meat on Sundays. A. A. Shakhmatov, A. I. Lyashchenko, G. P. Belchenko and some others doubted the authorship of Theodosius and attributed the authorship to Theodosius the Greek (mid-12th century[1]). According to O.V. Tvorogov, the nature of the question indicates the creation of the monument precisely in the early period of the history of Russian Christianity. Both lists indicate Theodosius as the author and Izyaslav Yaroslavich as the addressee of the message.
Another message was addressed to the same prince (“The Word of St. Theodosius, Abbot of the Pechersk Monastery about the peasant faith and the Latin faith”) with instructions on how to treat the Latins (Catholics) [11], presumably written in 1069, and preserved in the same collections as the previous one, as well as in a number of later lists. This message was used in the chronicle, in the so-called “confession of faith,” supposedly read already in the Primary Code of 1095.
Teachings and prayers[ | ]
Most of Theodosius's literary heritage consists of teachings to monks. His teaching words addressed to the monastery brethren are known. The surviving words convey the hegumen’s concern for the assimilation and fulfillment of the liturgical regulations, the organization and observance of church decorum, and the Christian education of the morality of the monks[11].
Most researchers attribute a number of teachings to the authorship of Theodosius. This attribution was proposed in the mid-19th century by S.P. Shevyrev and Bishop Macarius (Bulgakov):
- "About patience and love"
- "About patience and love and fasting"
- "On patience and alms"
- "On patience and humility"
- "On going to church and praying"
- “About spiritual creeping” (“A word of comfort to the brethren about spiritual creeping”, beginning: “I, sinful and lazy, buried my talent in the earth...”), retained in its content evidence that it was written in seclusion[11],
- “On the creeping of the soul” (another teaching, beginning: “That’s why I’m now afraid to write this to you...”),
- teaching (“word”) “to the cellarer”[15].
Five of these teachings are included in the parchment collection of the mid-15th century[16], and are available in later copies. “Instructions for the Cellarer” was found in a collection of the 14th-15th centuries [17] and other lists of the same and later times. According to I.P. Eremin, only the first of the teachings “about spiritual benefit” raises doubts about the authorship of Theodosius, since it contains a “pattern of rhetoric” unusual for other works of the saint. Tvorogov admits doubts about the ownership of these works by Theodosius.
Theodosius’s prayer for all Christians (“for all peasants”) was discovered and published by F. I. Buslaev according to the oldest list as part of the Psalter of 1296[18]. Known in a large number of lists[3].
N.V. Ponyrko calls this prayer for all Christians the crown of the asceticism of Theodosius. According to the researcher, the content of this prayer clearly shows what is connected in folk tradition with the characterization of St. Theodosius as “the lamp of all Rus',” since he acts as a prayer book for everyone[11].
Other possible works[ | ]
Theodosius was also credited with teaching “about the executions of God,” which was partly included in the “Tale of Bygone Years” and a number of other words, teachings and prayers[3][19].
The Love of Truth of Saint Theodosius
Intransigence to untruth leads the abbot to clashes not only with judges, but also with princes. His spiritual confrontation with Prince Svyatoslav, depicted in his life, completes the spiritual portrait of Theodosius and is a symbol of the attitude of the Church to the state of Ancient Rus'. When two brothers expel the elder from the Kyiv throne, take possession of the city and invite Theophanes to a feast, he refuses and denounces the brothers for the sins of murder and illegal possession of power, compares Prince Svyatoslav with Cain, and his brother with Abel. As a result, Prince Svyatoslav becomes angry. There are rumors about the expulsion of Theodosius.
Svyatoslav could not raise his hand against the righteous man and, in the end, comes with humility to the monastery of Theodosius in an attempt to make peace. Many times the righteous Theodosius unsuccessfully tried to beg Svyatoslav to reconcile with his brother, trying to reach the heart of the Kyiv prince. In the monastery, he orders everyone to pray for the legitimate exiled prince, and only after long requests from the brethren does he agree to remember Svyatoslav in second place.
The life of Saint Theodosius shows that the saint was ready to go into exile and death for the truth, and obeyed the law of love and life’s expediency. He considered it his duty to teach the princes, and their duty to obey his teachings. But Theodosius acts in relation to the princes not as having power, but as the embodiment of the meek power of Christ. The prayer to Theodosius of Pechersk calls for unshakable piety of souls and bodies, help and intercession, piety of the main persons of the country.
Such was Theodosius, living an integral spiritual life, pouring out the Light of Christ from the depths of his soul, measuring exploits and virtue with the gospel measure. This is how he remained in the memory of Russian asceticism, this is the life of Theodosius of Pechersk.
The historical choice of St. Theodosius of Pechersk, or what was not written about in the lives
Svenskaya Pechersk Icon of the Mother of God with Saints Anthony and Theodosius
The life of a saint is a special narrative genre of Christian literature.
Being subject to strict stylistic canons, it is practically impossible to read from the point of view of historical biography. But this is precisely how a reader brought up by modern cultural tradition strives to understand this specific literary text. The historian first of all asks the question: is it possible to separate literary etiquette from biographical information and consider the real context of the era in the hagiographic text? It seems possible... But how, since the author of a hagiography
is often not so much a writer as a compiler?
The fact is that ancient life
they were almost not interested in the hero’s personal traits that had nothing to do with his spiritual feat - in fact, the subject of teaching and veneration.
Although in the life of the saints there were not only exploits and vigils, and their interlocutors were not only angels, we know negligibly little about the earthly, everyday (let's say, historical) that filled their relationships with the world and people. Let us remember the Gospel story when the Savior shed tears upon learning of the death of his beloved Lazarus (John 11:35). Did the saints cry - not in prayerful repentance and joy, but simply in the feelings of our earthly nature and affection? The authors of hagiographies
, as a rule, did not know about such details, and were not particularly interested in them.
The purpose of their writing was completely different. For example, the first Russian hagiographer - Rev. Nestor the Chronicler imagined the essence of his work as follows: “having read the scripture and seeing a man of valor, let us praise God; and glorifying Him, we strengthen ourselves for other exploits.” So, “let us glorify God,” who revealed his grace in the feat of the saint; and “we are strengthened for other exploits.” However, in the text of even the most canonical hagiography
one can find something that was not directly the subject of the hagiographic narrative.
The most rich in this kind of “everyday” information is the Life of St. Theodosius of Pechersk
. This is our most ancient life, written by the same Nestor the Chronicler. Being written in the 1080s, it was already part of the Patericon of Pechersk from the 12th century, the most ancient edition of which was preserved in the Assumption collection of the 12th-13th centuries. So, what do we know about Rev. Theodosius from his Life, and what we have to guess about, as they say, between the lines.
***
In the Arsenyevskaya (1406) and subsequent editions of the Patericon it is reported that Theodosius was from Vasilyev - now the city of Vasilkov, Kyiv region. At that time, Vasiliev was the second most important residence of Prince Vladimir, the baptist of Rus', named by him in honor of his baptism with the name Vasily. The chronicler did not exclude that it was in Vasilevo that Vladimir’s personal baptism took place: “they say that he was baptized in Kyiv, but others decided in Vasilevo, but friends will say the same” (PVL). If so, then the small provincial city of Vasilkov was destined to distinguish itself twice in ancient Russian history: first thanks to the spiritual birth of the baptizer of our people, Prince Vladimir, then the birth of the founder of our monasticism - Venerable. Theodosius of Pechersk.
Since Theodosius came to Rev. Anthony around 1056, being a very young man - a “youth”, as Nestor calls him, then, consequently, his birth occurs in the 30s of the 11th century. Both dates were obtained by the method of indirect calculations, based on the relationship of other dated events, and therefore cannot claim accuracy and be the basis of any historical statements.
Most likely, Theodosius came from a family of boyars from the grand ducal circle. This conclusion follows on the basis of a number of indirect evidence from the Life, such as: the father’s “business trip” to Kursk at the behest of the Grand Duke, the presence of the youth Theodosius at dinner with the thousand (city governor), etc. Oddly enough, perhaps the only omission of the author was the absence mention of the worldly name of the future Pechersk abbot.
But it is also known that Theodosius spent his youth in the city of Kursk. When the young man was 13 years old, his father died. The mother undoubtedly expected that her son would continue his father’s boyar (or druzhina) service, on which the widow’s well-being depended. But, having matured, the young man did not strive to inherit the patriarchal foundations of his class. It is known that he refused to wear brocade clothing appropriate to his clan status, which, after wearing only a little, he gave to those in need. External simplicity was a mirror of humility of soul, which created a clear contrast against the background of the nobility, into whose environment Theodosius was obliged by his origin.
In medieval Rus', clothing certainly had a symbolic character, emphasizing the social status of the wearer and his feudal rights. “Disguising” young Theodosius and refusing to participate in court ceremonies was essentially a rejection of the customs of the feudal elite, which for the most part inherited the druzhina morality of the Varangian (pre-Christian) era. Thus, Theodosius’s rejection of the external attributes of his class was the first step of the young ascetic on the path to realizing his historical choice, which was truly of key importance for ancient Russian holiness.
Like any young man, Theodosius was not alien to dreams of wandering. Having once heard from pilgrims about the shrines of Jerusalem, he decided, secretly from his mother, to go with a trade caravan to Constantinople (Constantinople), and from there to the Holy Land. It’s amazing how the merchants agreed to take the boy they didn’t know with them to foreign countries. The famous Church historian E.E. Golubinsky even suggested that Theodosius could have contracted as a servant. In addition, self-interested traders probably hoped to later sell the strong young man into slavery somewhere in “overseas” countries, making a considerable profit. However, everything ended, as they say, without incident, thanks to the intervention of Mother Theodosius. Having gone in search of her son, she returned him home on the third day. Having shackled his legs, she kept the young wanderer in strict confinement for several days. Moreover, for the first two days, as punishment, she did not give him food at all, and then, after feeding him a little, she again humbled his militant spirit for Christ with hunger and shackles. The son, not wanting to upset his mother, agreed to her persuasion, promising to say goodbye to his pilgrimage dreams. In response, his mother released him from prison and allowed him to attend church freely again. And although Theodosius never reached Jerusalem, all his life he strove for the Heavenly Jerusalem, the road to which is open to any Christian who has acquired evangelical simplicity and humility.
In addition to pilgrimage ideas, young Theodosius was especially passionate about such a pious craft as baking prosphora. Once he learned that the Liturgy was often not served in a neighboring church due to a lack of prosphoras, Theodosius himself began to work on baking them. Mother did not like this “ignoble” occupation at all. She tried in every possible way to dissuade her son from the obedience he had accepted for the reason that it allegedly dishonored their family and social position. The son patiently and reverently reassured his mother, explaining the high purpose of preparing prosphora for the celebration of the Liturgy. For some time he managed to put his mother's anger to mercy. However, seeing her son’s exhaustion from the stove and the heat, the mother again turned to prohibitions, threats, and sometimes beatings.
The stern woman’s patience finally burst when, from the blood stains on her clothes, she discovered that Theodosius, subduing his hot youthful flesh, wore chains (iron shackles) on his body. Of course, I had to part with the chains for a while. But, probably, it was at that moment that the future reverend was seriously faced with a choice - either to finally enslave the will of a moral mother, who undoubtedly dreamed of a boyar career for her son, and thus “sign” a kind of vassal sentence, or to sacrifice filial ties for the sake of to become enslaved to Christ alone.
The choice of young Theodosius was not simply a choice of class status or type of activity within the framework of Christian religiosity, as it looks today for people entering monasticism. On a personal level, this was a choice at the core of Christianity itself. To understand the meaning of such a definition, let us remember that the time of the saint’s youth was an era of unabating princely bloodshed in Rus', contemporary with the struggle for the grand-ducal table between the sons of Vladimir, the first victims of which were Boris and Gleb. Civil strife did not subside throughout almost the entire 11th century. and was accompanied by a fratricidal massacre, the weapon of which was the Grand Duke’s closest entourage from among the boyars and warriors. To enter into vassal duties would mean condemning oneself to complete obedience to the overlord. The manifestation of this obedience did not exclude outright fratricide in the interests of their ruler, who quite often changed at that time on the Kiev table. And Theodosius refused such a “sentence” for the sake of the Christian vows, the main essence of which is brotherly love and humility.
Today, such a life dilemma seems almost unimaginable. We are so accustomed to gilding on the domes of majestic cathedrals, motifs of repentance in works of Russian literature, biblical genres in classical painting, etc., that sometimes we look at hoary antiquity “from the bell tower” of our historical situation, where the theme of personal piety, as a rule, is not opposed to the socio-political choice of a person. Christianity, which formed the foundation of our national culture, was firmly absorbed into the public mentality and became something commonplace for us. In other words: having a good millennium of Orthodoxy in Rus' behind us, we can afford to be, say, a doctor, an engineer, or even a soldier and at the same time, without compromising our professional activities, bear the name of a Christian, focusing our personal ethics on purely Christian values. But this was not always the case. The cruel foundations of the feudal world of that distant time, barely imbued with the faint echoes of the gospel sermon (and after all, only a few decades had passed since the Baptism of Rus'), left serving people with almost no personal choice in such a situation. A special contrast was felt if a person became a Christian with all his heart and not in words took on the yoke
Christ, imitating the one who said:
learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart
(Matt 11:29). In this case, the choice seemed quite categorical - Christ or a political career. And young Theodosius made his choice, which, as we see, was not only a personal choice of Christianity, but also a historical choice for all Russian monasticism and ancient Russian culture as a whole.
It is hardly worth dwelling on the fact that the iconographic pathos of the life was not able to reflect all the psychological complexity and drama that experienced the jealousy and purity of the future saint. Perhaps the widowed mother had hopes for Theodosius as her only son. True, the Life once mentions the younger brother Theodosius, whom his mother took with her, setting off in search of her son after his attempt to go to the Holy Land. However, we know nothing about the further fate of this youth. Perhaps, at the time of Theodosius’s arrival at the Pechersk monastery, he was no longer alive, which explains the mother’s desperate attempts to find her eldest son. When, years later, these searches were finally crowned with success, but it was no longer possible to return her child to his father’s house, the tormented mother wished to become like her son in the monastic rank. Such an act, in our opinion, cannot be explained except by the deepest maternal affection. Unfortunately, we know nothing about what heartfelt experiences the humble young man had to endure in order to ultimately devalue his mother’s hopes for his son’s secular success. Most likely, it was the categorical nature of his personal choice - the Gospel or a career, Christ or his father's house - that forced Theodosius to sacrifice filial ties for the sake of ties of spiritual kinship, remembering the gospel truth: whoever loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me
(Mt 10:37).
***
Venerable Anthony and Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk
Secretly leaving his parents' house, Theodosius set off with a trading caravan to Kyiv. This time he prudently kept his distance in order to remain unnoticed by the servants sent by his mother to search for him. After three weeks of walking, full of hardships and dangers awaiting a lone traveler in a wild forest area, Theodosius finally reached the capital city.
In Kyiv, one of the largest and richest European cities of that time, there were already several monasteries. These were a kind of patronal monasteries, founded by princes and boyars as family tombs. But people “from the road” were not accepted there. In addition, in such a monastery, a cunning mother could easily find her son. Both of these equally served as the reason for young Theodosius’s coming to the silent Anthony. It was to him that Theodosius turned with a request to accept him as one of the small brethren who lived with him on Berestovaya Mountain far from the city walls. After a rather long period of testing, Theodosius was tonsured by the monastery priest (future abbot) Nikon, when (according to the Patericon of the 17th century) Theodosius was 23 years old.
The story that happened to Theodosius’s mother deserves special attention. As expected, she spent a long time looking for her son in her city and the surrounding area, and even offered a considerable reward to anyone who would point her to his whereabouts. No earlier than 4 years later, merchants reported that they had seen a monk in Kyiv very similar to her son. The mother went to the capital, but searches in rich monasteries did not bring the expected result. There was only one wretched cave left. Anthony, and the mother, exhausted by her search, in desperation turned to the hermit with a request to help her find her son. The elder did not conceal it and admitted that her son labored in his cave, but refused to see anyone, even his own mother. However, as we know, even the eloquence of an old man cannot withstand maternal perseverance, and the monk nevertheless agreed to call the student, using the authority of his blessing. Theodosius did not dare to disobey and went out to meet his mother.
It is hardly possible to describe or even imagine the picture of a mother meeting with her son after many years of separation and inconsolable searches. The Life reports that the mother initially persuaded her son to return to his home, promising never again to insist on her opinion regarding his pious hobby, primarily baking prosphora. Theodosius persuaded her to stay in Kyiv, taking monastic vows in one of the women’s monasteries, thus gaining salvation for her soul and the opportunity to see her son from time to time. After much hesitation, the monk’s persuasion had its effect, and the woman, wounded by her mother’s sorrows, took her hair in the monastery of St. Nicholas, where, after living for many years, she peacefully departed to the Lord.
Today it is difficult to say for sure whether the St. Nicholas Monastery was meant on Podol (where the Church of St. Nicholas-Pritis is now) or on the site of the later Pustynno-Mikilsky Monastery in Pechersk, on the slope near the “Askold’s Grave.” The latter location, of course, was more conducive to communication between Theodosius and his mother, who yearned so much for her son.
This was the memorable choice of the Rev. Theodosius, who not only humbled the heart of his moral mother, but also arranged the historical paths of all Russian culture. A piece of this culture is the Life of Theodosius of Pechersk
. In terms of the abundance of details of the protagonist’s pre-monastic life, he has no equal in the entire complex of ancient Russian literature. Oddly enough, the same mother of the reverend played a huge role in this (unfortunately, the source does not indicate her name). The fact is that later, being already a monk at the St. Nicholas Monastery, she told a lot to a certain Theodore, who was a cellarer (housekeeper) at the Pechersky Monastery, and he, in turn, retold the Venerable. Nestor the Chronicler, creator of the Life of Theodosius. This is how unique biographical news about the head of the Kiev-Pechersk hostel - this cradle of Russian monasticism - has reached us.
However, much more than what was written by the pen of the ancient chronicler can be read between the lines on the charter of our spiritual history...
